Approaches to Health

promotion.
Medical approach.
• The aim of this approach is to make or create freedom from medically
defined diseases or disability
• It also aims at reducing morbidity and premature morbidity
• It seeks to increase medical interventions which will prevent ill health
• Medical approach is composed of three levels of prevention i.e. primary,
secondary and tertiary prevention.
• First level entails prevention of the onset of diseases through encouraging
non smoking
• Second level entails preventing the progression of disease through screening
and methods of early diagnosis
• Third level entails rehabilitation and is aimed at reducing further disability
and suffering in those already ill and preventing recurrence of illness.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE APPROACH
• The aim of this approach is to encourage individuals to adopt healthy behaviors
• It is popular because it views health as a property of individuals
• It assumes that people have a responsibility to make real improvements to their
own health
• It also entails that people are to blame for being irresponsible thus people should
act over their own health
• This approach entails that there is a complex relationship between individual
behavior and social and environmental factors
• Behavior may be a response to the conditions in which people live and the
causes of these conditions e.g. unemployment, poverty…
• It is targeted to individuals though mass means of communication may be used
EDUCATIONAL APPROACH
• This approach seeks to provide knowledge and information
• It aims at developing necessary skills so that people can make informed choices and decisions about
their own health
• Unlike the behavior change approach, it is not set to persuade or motivate change however education
is intended to bring positive outcomes
• The outcomes may be the clients’ voluntary choice not actually the ones the health promoter would
expect or prefer
• Educational approach assumes that, by increasing knowledge, there will be a change in attitudes, and
this may lead to changed behavior
• Educational approach involves information and understanding (cognitive)
• Educational approach also involves attitudes and feelings (affective)
• Educational approach extends to involve sills development (behavioral)
• The educational approach methods are leaflets, booklets, visual displays or one to one, group
discussions or counselling
EMPOWERMENT/CLIENT CENTRED
APPROACH
• This approach also means enabling people to gain control over their own health
• This approach encourages people to identify their own concerns and gain skills and confidence
to act upon them
• It is based on a bottom-up strategy and requires the skills of a health promoter
• The health promoter needs to become a facilitator whose role is to act as a catalyst that is
getting things going and freeing up resources and then withdraw from the situation
• For people to be empowered they need to recognize and understand their powerlessness
• People should feel strongly enough about their situation to want to change it
• People should also feel capable of changing the situation by having information, support and
life skills hence we talk of self-empowerment
• Empowerment is a way of working which increases peoples’ power to change their social reality
• Community empowerment culminates to community development
SOCIAL OR SOCIATAL CHANGE
APPROACH
• This approach is sometimes referred to as radical health promotion
• It acknowledges the importance of socioeconomic environment in determining health
• Its focus is at the policy or environmental level
• The aim of this approach is to bring about in the physical, social and economical
environment which will have the effect of promoting health
• The assumption is ‘to make the healthy choice the easier choice’.
• Social change approach suggest that a healthy choice is available, but to make it a realistic
option for people, it requires changes in its cost, availability or accessibility
• This approach is targeted towards groups and populations
• It requires widespread consultation and commitment from the highest level
• This approach is based on a top-down strategy
• The best used methods are lobbying, networking, policy planning and implementation